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How prevalent is crassulacean acid metabolism among vascular epiphytes?

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Abstract

The occurrence of crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) in the epiphyte community of a lowland forest of the Atlantic slope of Panama was investigated. I hypothesized that CAM is mostly found in orchids, of which many species are relatively small and/or rare. Thus, the relative proportion of species with CAM should not be a good indicator for the prevalence of this photosynthetic pathway in a community when expressed on an individual or a biomass basis. In 0.4 ha of forest, 103 species of vascular epiphytes with 13,099 individuals were found. As judged from the C isotope ratios and the absence of Kranz anatomy, CAM was detected in 20 species (19.4% of the total), which were members of the families Orchidaceae, Bromeliaceae, and Cactaceae. As predicted, the contribution of CAM epiphytes to the total number of individuals and to total biomass (69.6 kg ha-1) was considerably lower (3.6% or 466 individuals and, respectively, 3.0% or 2.1 kg ha-1).

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Acknowledgements

The excellent assistance of S. Schultz (Würzburg, Germany) was essential for the success of this study. Funds came from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) (Panama), the United Nations Environmental Program, the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, the FAG, Basel, Switzerland, and the A. F. W. Schimperstiftung, Stuttgart, Germany. Thanks to S. J. Wright, V. Horlyck, J. Herrera and E. Andrade (all STRI) for organising work at the Crane. Help with the identification of epiphytes from D. Lellinger (Washington, D.C.), J. Atwood (Sarasota, USA), R. Dressler (Florida), and C. Galdames (STRI) is appreciated. P. Hietz (Vienna) did not hesitate to dig out decade-old data. Finally, many thanks to W. Wanek (Vienna) for help with the mass spectrometry.

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  1. Botanisches Institut der Universität Basel, Schönbeinstrasse 6, 4056, Basel, Switzerland

    Gerhard Zotz

  2. Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Panama

    Gerhard Zotz

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Correspondence to Gerhard Zotz.

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Zotz, G. How prevalent is crassulacean acid metabolism among vascular epiphytes?. Oecologia 138, 184–192 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-003-1418-x

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